A mystic, Yamabushi Kaidan, is protecting the small independent village of Kyuusai against the dangers of supernatural interference and the influence of a local Warlord. While contemplating the world, from the top of a cherry blossom tree, Kaidan notes the village has been attacked by an apparent dragon. Along with his acolyte Akio, a trained sparrowhawk, and the villager Yumi, Kaidan will face the dragon and get to the bottom of a ruse to get a sacred scroll.

Complicating matters is the arrival of a group of Daimyo Takahiro's Samurai, lead by the brutal Captain Karuido. While the Samurai are happy enough to tackle the dragon that has returned to attack the village, they also lock horns with Kaidan's crew. Can Kaidan and his comrades defend the village from the twin assaults and will Akio fulfil his requirement to protect the scroll?

Shane Jiraiya Cummings stretches into a Japanese mythical genre with relative ease, but does manage to spin a few dark threads through his novella set in a feudal past. Or as Cummings puts it, “In a Japan that never was ...”. The important point to note here is we are talking a Japan that sits firmly in history but yet a Japan that has quite a number of supernatural “realities” going down. What the Author achieves is pretty much an alternative history set in a parallel universe to our own. I was grooving to the concept, almost a James A Michener Shogun meets Japanese folklore affair. Kaidan infact translates to English as “supernatural tale”, so Cummings isn't being backward in pointing out, anything goes in the wild wild East.

Cummings mixes in just enough feudal Japanese reality, at least for this wild Colonial boy, to make us believers before we hit the supernatural sauce on this rice bowl. We get the politeness of Japanese society, that masks a pretty brutal reality really, the whole Samurai code of honour thing, and the interactions with various villagers ringing true to our feelings of what small town life would have been like.

Of course if Cummings was simply throwing on a village life in rural feudal Japan yarn we wouldn't be as interested. The Author mixes in the supernatural with a strong hand on the tiller, you wont notice the seams as Cummings stitches in his other world elements with the sort of skill that indicates you are in the hands of an Author that has his game on. Since the story is anchored in the reality of a feudal Japan that could have been, the inclusion of the supernatural doesn't come with a jolt that will jerk you out of the story at any stage. It's almost the blending of two different genres, which of course tends to give us the most interesting examples of what can be done in the dark genre by those with vivid imaginations. Don't ask me if any of the supernatural elements come direct from Japanese mythology, I only watch the odd j-horror outing yo. But I got to say if Shane Jiraiya Cummings is writing about it then it probably does have a basis in the mythology, and if it doesn't then it damn well should.

I should point out that The Smoke Dragon is like a prequel to a match larger work headed our way, Circle of Tears, which is set for publication in 2012. Actually Cummings is working his way through an epic series of books based around the character of Yamabushi Kaidan. Am I excited, do zombies decay! We'll be covering the whole series, so if a Shane Jiraiya Cummings fan we have your back covered.

Back to the book in hand, which is worth more than two in the bush or something, if you have been exposed to Shane Jiraiya Cummings' writing style before then you'll know exactly what to expect. For those that haven't had the pleasure, Cummings writes a solid line of prose, inherently knows how to set pace, and is a joy to read. One of those Authors who have a nature flow to their writing that drags you effortlessly into the book from the first page and then doesn't release you till to the last page has been read. Considering we aren't talking a long investment time wise, The Smoke Dragon could well be a good starting point for readers new to the Author's work.

So I had a great time with the book and am now really looking forward to it's big brother, due out next year. Cummings once again kept me entertained with his story telling ability and I was glued to the page while reading. A highly recommended novella that does what story telling is meant to do, transport you to a land of wonder. Shane Jiraiya Cummings once again shows why he is one of Australia's leading short fiction writers.

The Smoke Dragon, and you'll note I kept spoilers to a minimum, there's a lot more happening in the story than I've alluded to, is available for free via the good folk at smashwords.com. While there cruise through some of the other offerings from the Author, I would suggest getting the lot, but then hey fan over here.